Sarah Collins a star of the future !!!

thirstywork2

Anyone thas was there on Sunday as talked about this girl.She looks like one for the future....


http://www.donegaldaily.com/2012/02/27/new-donegal-irish-champion-is-best-ive-seen-in-40-years-mcgonagle/

Dan man

The fact she beat Siofra Cleirigh-Buttner, who is a huge talent also, speaks volumes of her potential.

myflipflops

I presume she is committed to run for Ireland?

We need some major talents coming through. There were only 19 runners in the junior girls race which is incredibly worrying.

thirtyfoot

I presume he saw Sonia in Killenaule, so she is better than Sonia! No pressure.

I presume his enthusiasm is as much to do with getting a nice story in the parish paper.

Great talent but more responsible championing of her might be needed.

Larry Brent

Donegal Irish Champion? Unusual term. Can't remember Boit being referred to as the Dublin Irish Champion:)

As regards to the pre-race favorite being surprised, I would be too if a ringer, from Switzerland, via Cork, in a Finn Valley vest, I wasn't expecting, turned up at a race!

Be interesting to hear more on the background, how she was recruited. Is it just a case of finders keepers? Or might she have been advised to consider a Cork club if that's where her roots are....

Best of luck to her in the Swiss champs and future.

dna_leri

Is this just an unfortunate malapropism or a typo:

Patsy, the Ireland Olympic team manager, said: "Sinead Jennings first told her about me and we have been in touch by phone and email ever since.

When the Ireland Olympic team manager says, why not join my club, I'm sure it seems attractive. I hope she gets the appropriate coaching and support she needs to match her talents.

thirstywork2

Larry Brent wrote: »

Donegal Irish Champion? Unusual term. Can't remember Boit being referred to as the Dublin Irish Champion:)

As regards to the pre-race favorite being surprised, I would be too if a ringer, from Switzerland, via Cork, in a Finn Valley vest, I wasn't expecting, turned up at a race!

Be interesting to hear more on the background, how she was recruited. Is it just a case of finders keepers? Or might she have been advised to consider a Cork club if that's where her roots are....

Best of luck to her in the Swiss champs and future.

Sounds abit bitter there.A ringer when her parents are from Ireland.
If that was the case then look at the senior mens race,not all choose to run for a club that is in the county they are born in or parnets if from another country.
We could bring this into another debate but please don't.Lets focus ona very talented runner who can bring some success to Ireland.

SeanKenny

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Sounds abit bitter there.A ringer when her parents are from Ireland.
If that was the case then look at the senior mens race,not all choose to run for a club that is in the county they are born in or parnets if from another country.
We could bring this into another debate but please don't.Lets focus ona very talented runner who can bring some success to Ireland.

Can anybody confirm that she is actually committed to running for Ireland? She is racing the swiss championships so I am just wondering which singlet she might appear in in the World Juniors this summer? If she chooses Ireland, fair play to her. She is obviously a great prospect.

Either way, she has a strong Irish connection. People with no Irish connections and no interest in ever running for Ireland have annexed Irish titles in the past. Well done to her from a fellow rebel!!

ecoli

Just a friendly reminder to keep the discussion more performance orientated on the race

[*]Third party discussion of under age athletes is banned in order to avoid criticism of young athletes on a public forum or placing too much pressure on their shoulders. Discussion of major underage events (e.g. EYOF, World Juniors, etc) will be permitted but anything that the Moderator feels is inappropriate ["Joe Bloggs is crap and has no future in the sport" or "Josephine Bloggs will be a big dissapointment if she's not an Olympic Medallist in the future!!!"] may be removed". If you notice someone discussing underaged athletes, please use the report button to bring it to the moderator's attention.

(Mod hat off): Was out there Sunday and was very impressed with her race she ran a very good race and put in a very strong effort in the second half of the race. (If she has declared for Ireland) there is a the nucleus of a very good XC team on the womens team which does appear to be slightly weaker than their male counterparts at the Junior level in current times.

thirtyfoot

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Sounds abit bitter there.A ringer when her parents are from Ireland.
If that was the case then look at the senior mens race,not all choose to run for a club that is in the county they are born in or parnets if from another country.
We could bring this into another debate but please don't.Lets focus ona very talented runner who can bring some success to Ireland.

To have it solely focussed on her, you could have excluded the link the newspaper article which is as much a celebration of the Olympic team manager and his recruitment skills and his eye for a great young talent.

Exciting talent aside from the Patsy element.

Getonwithit

Lets not focus on how she got to the line. She is eligible and can run so we should be pleased that we have secured her, which Im presuming we have as a future prospect. Beating Siofra is no mean feat and the Junior womens team for next years Euro Cross is now already looking a little bit stronger.
Rather than attack a personality I think credit should go to Dermot Hennigan and Eddie McDonagh in the DSD junior womens team. They are an excellent bunch, finished 3rd at the Euro clubs and lets hope they continue on into the future.
The fact there was only 19 in the race is an issue however. The problem is somewhere between scheduling, lack of interest from clubs and the continuing problem of retention of athletes within our system esp from 16/17 onwards.

Larry Brent

thirstywork2 wrote: »

Larry Brent wrote: »

Donegal Irish Champion? Unusual term. Can't remember Boit being referred to as the Dublin Irish Champion:)

As regards to the pre-race favorite being surprised, I would be too if a ringer, from Switzerland, via Cork, in a Finn Valley vest, I wasn't expecting, turned up at a race!

Be interesting to hear more on the background, how she was recruited. Is it just a case of finders keepers? Or might she have been advised to consider a Cork club if that's where her roots are....

Best of luck to her in the Swiss champs and future.

Sounds abit bitter there.A ringer when her parents are from Ireland.
If that was the case then look at the senior mens race,not all choose to run for a club that is in the county they are born in or parnets if from another country.
We could bring this into another debate but please don't.Lets focus ona very talented runner who can bring some success to Ireland.

Absolutely no bitterness towards the athlete, the exact opposite, all the best to her. Was just a bit perplexed as to how it's been reported in the link above and on FVAC website. Seems to me more focused on the great surprise given to Irish athletics than the great performance. As if the orchestrator of the surprise deserves the credit!

With parents from Cork and 'currently' working in Switzerland I just wondered if a Cork club might be more suitable as she's more likely to spend time there. No bitterness in that or pro-Cork bias intended, just wondering if that might have been more suitable longer term?

Mumontherun

Wow! Is she really a "raw" talent with no athletic background ? Had she been competing in Switzerland as a juvenile ????

thirstywork2

At that age any athlete is ''raw''

http://soundcloud.com/davehooper/feidhlimkelly280212

Good report about the national cross country champs and a little more about Sarah Collins.

scroddy

SeanKenny wrote: »

Can anybody confirm that she is actually committed to running for Ireland? She is racing the swiss championships so I am just wondering which singlet she might appear in in the World Juniors this summer? If she chooses Ireland, fair play to her. She is obviously a great prospect.

Either way, she has a strong Irish connection. People with no Irish connections and no interest in ever running for Ireland have annexed Irish titles in the past. Well done to her from a fellow rebel!!

I can clear up all the queries for you!! Not only has she Irish Parents from Cork, but she was born in Cork and lived there for c.10 yrs. She speaks with a Cork accent still!!!
The reason she hasnt rperesented a Cork club is simple. She was not involved in Athletics when she was younger and is a relative newcomer to the sport, and thus has no Athletic connections in Ireland. She won the swiss u18 3000m title in September 2011, which is possibly where the Olympic connections came in. I dont know.
Regarding who she will be representing.... she will race for Ireland ultimately if her swiss championship declaration is a good indication. She represented Ireland at these championships!!! see attached link which shows the results.
http://www.swiss-athletics.ch/fr/meisterschaften/archive-listes-des-resultats.html

I think one doesnt have to finalise that piece til older, so maybe she owes it to her coaches in Switzerland to represent them once.... but you can be sure that if she is good enough and asked, she will represent Ireland.

She's young and has a long way to go, so lets just watch this space and hope she keeps improving. But well done to her , national champion is no mean feat. good luck to her in the swiss championships.

T runner

scroddy wrote: »

I can clear up all the queries for you!! Not only has she Irish Parents from Cork, but she was born in Cork and lived there for c.10 yrs. She speaks with a Cork accent still!!!
The reason she hasnt rperesented a Cork club is simple. She was not involved in Athletics when she was younger and is a relative newcomer to the sport, and thus has no Athletic connections in Ireland. She won the swiss u18 3000m title in September 2011, which is possibly where the Olympic connections came in. I dont know.
Regarding who she will be representing.... she will race for Ireland ultimately if her swiss championship declaration is a good indication. She represented Ireland at these championships!!! see attached link which shows the results.
http://www.swiss-athletics.ch/fr/meisterschaften/archive-listes-des-resultats.html

I think one doesnt have to finalise that piece til older, so maybe she owes it to her coaches in Switzerland to represent them once.... but you can be sure that if she is good enough and asked, she will represent Ireland.

She's young and has a long way to go, so lets just watch this space and hope she keeps improving. But well done to her , national champion is no mean feat. good luck to her in the swiss championships.

http://www.swiss-athletics.ch/files/wettkaempfe/meisterschaften/archiv/resultate_11/fr_resultats_cs_u18_u16_2011.pdfv

Thanks for the link Scroddy. Just to make it easier to find her. Search for "Collins" after opening

Mumontherun

Anyone have a link to a video of last Sundays races ?

scroddy

swiss champion now too. congrats to her!

AlasAnAlias

To complete this story, pls see the link below. Jennings had been told about Sarah Collins by a workmate, who is Collins' uncle. Jennings informed McGonagle who brought Collins over to race Buttner.

It is great for Irish athlethics to get such proven talent (at this young age), even if Collins looked certain to declare for Switzerland before being headhunted. No one is gonna turn down the Irish Olympic team manager! I do agree, though, that she may be better in an Irish AC nearer family, even more so that she will be located in Birmingham from September, with her immediate family in Basle. Here's hoping it all works out, she's class.

http://www.thisisgrimsby.co.uk/Athletics-Ex-Harrier-Sarah-makes-mark-national/story-15694209-detail/story.html

http://www.finnvalleyac.com/news/?sarah-wins-national-for-valley-180.html

the_real_lamp

Has she definitely declared for Ireland? Would be great if she had.

scroddy

the_real_lamp wrote: »

Has she definitely declared for Ireland? Would be great if she had.

Guys. Sarah is Irish. I understand she is looking forward to representing her country

AlasAnAlias

the_real_lamp wrote: »

Has she definitely declared for Ireland? Would be great if she had.

No, she's just going 18, but it seems a dead cert given McGonagle's intervention. It was known, by a number of Irish-based coaches, that she was Irish and living/running abroad but had not been contacted to compete here competitively prior to McGonagle.

'We' have other young Irish athletes who are 'known' in other countries too, a number on US/UK scholarships, and also many who qualify for Irish citzenship. Will contacting other promising athletes in either category now commence? Will it be limited to running? Who knows.......

Sarah has been running for over 7 years, about 5 of these with intense training and high level coaching. She has made great strides the last couple of years (excuse the pun) with her very well regarded Swiss coach, after solid foundations were laid in The UK.

As you know, people have a choice what country they wish to represent, depending on nation of birth; parental nation of birth; grandparents nation of birth; permanent residency etc. etc. I, for one, am delighted to see anyone of promise represent our island. If they chose not to, and those reasons are usually multlifactorial, I would wish them the best and that includes Sarah. Just because you are born in country X, does not mean you compete for country X. I respect that. (And so does The International Olympic Committee).

IrishTrackFan1

AlasAnAlias wrote: »

No, she's just going 18, but it seems a dead cert given McGonagle's intervention. It was known, by a number of Irish-based coaches, that she was Irish and living/running abroad but had not been contacted to compete here competitively prior to McGonagle.

'We' have other young Irish athletes who are 'known' in other countries too, a number on US/UK scholarships, and also many who qualify for Irish citzenship. Will contacting other promising athletes in either category now commence? Will it be limited to running? Who knows.......

Sarah has been running for over 7 years, about 5 of these with intense training and high level coaching. She has made great strides the last couple of years (excuse the pun) with her very well regarded Swiss coach, after solid foundations were laid in The UK.

As you know, people have a choice what country they wish to represent, depending on nation of birth; parental nation of birth; grandparents nation of birth; permanent residency etc. etc. I, for one, am delighted to see anyone of promise represent our island. If they chose not to, and those reasons are usually multlifactorial, I would wish them the best and that includes Sarah. Just because you are born in country X, does not mean you compete for country X. I respect that. (And so does The International Olympic Committee).

Agree with this and the freedom to compete for wherever is most comfortable.
A bigger question though is whether there is any benefit to Irish athletics in accommodating this situation.
Taking track and field, there is only one opportunity for a senior athlete to contribute to an Irish team and that is in the Europa Cup. Bringing in overseas athletes to get extra points (and they don't always manage that) effectively cuts off the only opportunity our home grown athletes have of representing their country. Very little benefit for quite a price in my view.

For those athletes that are good enough to qualify for championships, again the benefit is marginal to the country - certainly Joe Public doesn't care whether 15 or 16 athletes qualify for London - its medals and maybe finals that matter and none of the newcomers will contribute at that level - so therefore in my view no benefit to the sport in having them there (although clearly great benefit to the athletes themselves who otherwise would not get to go).

I would love to hear the argument in favour of this policy and its aggressive pursuit by our Team Manager.

Cross country is a bit different with more team opportunities but still of dubious benefit particularly for underage athletes.

But its not soccer where the whole team benefits from the newcomers, more success means more games and more revenue and at least some of the benefit is can flow to the grass roots.

Pherekydes

Sarah Collins (Finn Valley AC), winner of the Woodie’s DIY Inter Club junior cross country title, set a new Irish junior 5,000m record in Koblenz Germany last night. She was 12th in her race and first junior home in a time of 16:41.29 to better Suzanne Huet’s 2007 best of 16:48.17. Her time is just outside the 16:40.00 B standard for the World Junior championships.

From AAI website.

thirstywork2

Finn Valley girl accepts U S offer

Sarah Collins ,Finn Valley ac , Irish junior cross country and track champion has accepted an offer from Providence College , Rhode Island , of a athletics scholarship . She takes up the offer towards the end of August and will then depart for the U S East Coast university . Recently returned home from the world champs in Barcelona where she returned a pb in the 3k final at 9.26.26 she has had an exciting season . . Providence offers her the opportunity to improve her athletic performance in a dedicated performance environment while continuing to pursue her academic ambitions in an NCAA Div. 1 competitive challenging surrounding. A college of some 4000 students it has become something of a host for numerous Irish international athletes including John Treacy,Mary Cullen, Martin Fagin, Geraldine Hendricken, Maria Mc Cambridge ,Keith Kelly , David Mc Carthy to name a few . .
This is a full scholarship offer to include accommodation , board ,tuition etc valued at $ 52k annually and we will monitor her progress as she is still a junior ( under 20 ) athlete in 2013.
Valley Team Leader and national Manager Patsy Mc Gonagle has expressed ' this offer has been there for some time and i am totally at one with her in her decision to go Stateside to a University that will open the opportunity to her to improve parallel to her obvious talent